Hundreds mourn victims of fatal duck boat accident

BRANSON, Mo. – While speaking the word of God and tightly holding hands, the heartbreak that happened Thursday evening in Branson turned to understanding and comfort through the power of prayer.

“Give us your understanding, God. Give us your word. Give us more of you,” a youth pastor said in prayer.

It’s that strength families like Karen Abbott are searching for right now. Abbott lost her brother and sister-in-law in the Duck Boat tragedy. She hadn’t found out about the crash until she made it to work.

“I started calling my brother and sister-in-law’s phone and there was no answer so I called their hotel and they hadn’t seen them so needless to say every moment that passed I panicked more and more,” Abbott said.

Once her fears became reality, it destroyed a place that once served as the perfect getaway.

“It’s destroyed for me,” she said. “I’ll never have a happy moment like that again!”

Hundreds laid flowers, kind notes, and teddy bears to show their condolences.

Many stopped for a second and said a prayer for the victims.

“First, it was disbelief,” visitor Jake Harris said. “There’s the stages of grief and we’re all just in the disbelief stage.”

And while they all try to make sense of what happened, they’ll continue to pray for clarity.

“So, Father, we ask these things with complete confidence that you will hear us and answer us,” the youth pastor continued in prayer.